We Believe Sumitomo Pharma's (TSE:4506) Earnings Are A Poor Guide For Its Profitability

Strong earnings weren't enough to please Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd.'s (TSE:4506) shareholders over the last week. We did some analysis and believe that they might be concerned about some weak underlying factors.

Our free stock report includes 4 warning signs investors should be aware of before investing in Sumitomo Pharma. Read for free now.

How Do Unusual Items Influence Profit?

For anyone who wants to understand Sumitomo Pharma's profit beyond the statutory numbers, it's important to note that during the last twelve months statutory profit gained from JP¥17b worth of unusual items. While it's always nice to have higher profit, a large contribution from unusual items sometimes dampens our enthusiasm. We ran the numbers on most publicly listed companies worldwide, and it's very common for unusual items to be once-off in nature. And that's as you'd expect, given these boosts are described as 'unusual'. We can see that Sumitomo Pharma's positive unusual items were quite significant relative to its profit in the year to March 2025. All else being equal, this would likely have the effect of making the statutory profit a poor guide to underlying earnings power.

That might leave you wondering what analysts are forecasting in terms of future profitability. Luckily, you can click here to see an interactive graph depicting future profitability, based on their estimates.

An Unusual Tax Situation

Just as we noted the unusual items, we must inform you that Sumitomo Pharma received a tax benefit which contributed JP¥6.0b to the bottom line. It's always a bit noteworthy when a company is paid by the tax man, rather than paying the tax man. Of course, prima facie it's great to receive a tax benefit. And given that it lost money last year, it seems possible that the benefit is evidence that it now expects to find value in its past tax losses. However, our data indicates that tax benefits can temporarily boost statutory profit in the year it is booked, but subsequently profit may fall back. Assuming the tax benefit is not repeated every year, we could see its profitability drop noticeably, all else being equal. So while we think it's great to receive a tax benefit, it does tend to imply an increased risk that the statutory profit overstates the sustainable earnings power of the business.

Our Take On Sumitomo Pharma's Profit Performance

In its last report Sumitomo Pharma received a tax benefit which might make its profit look better than it really is on a underlying level. Furthermore, it also benefitted from a positive unusual item, which boosted the profit result even higher. For the reasons mentioned above, we think that a perfunctory glance at Sumitomo Pharma's statutory profits might make it look better than it really is on an underlying level. So if you'd like to dive deeper into this stock, it's crucial to consider any risks it's facing. For example, we've found that Sumitomo Pharma has 4 warning signs (3 can't be ignored!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis.

In this article we've looked at a number of factors that can impair the utility of profit numbers, and we've come away cautious. But there is always more to discover if you are capable of focussing your mind on minutiae. For example, many people consider a high return on equity as an indication of favorable business economics, while others like to 'follow the money' and search out stocks that insiders are buying. While it might take a little research on your behalf, you may find this free collection of companies boasting high return on equity, or this list of stocks with significant insider holdings to be useful.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.